Speech Technology Books

This is a short book, so I only anticipated a rudimentary overview and basic instructions on creating podcasts for a novice. I was pleased to find a good range of information, mostly for people who have had some experience with digital audio and content syndication.

The book is essentially a catalogue of all things related to podcasting. It compares everything from podcatcher software, microphones and headphones, audio editing programs, distribution methods, and all things in between. It also provides a basic guide on creating audio and video podcasts using the iLife products on the Mac or Audacity and Movie Maker on a PC. I felt the best feature of this book was that almost every page included an image of each interface or piece of hardware being discussed. Again, it gives the reader a great side-by-side comparison of the most popular and up-and-coming technologies related to podcasting.

Unfortunately, because the book is so focused on current technology, it will become obsolete very quickly. In fact, the book is barely a year old and is already dated. The author realizes this and attempts to be as forward thinking as possible. This is the second edition of the book, and no doubt subsequent editions will follow.

This book provides everything a person needs to know if he or she is seriously considering creating an episodic podcast right now. It even features some interesting interviews with veteran podcasters. If you do buy this book though, don't expect that it will have a long shelf-life.

You have to admire anyone who tries to write a beginners' guide to a technology this new and that is growing this explosively. Farkas really does an excellent job. His second edition got me up and running on my own podcast within 48 hours of my buying the book.

Most valuable: the author's evaluations and recommendations of products and software. Yes, this material will quickly become dated, but Farkas gives us a good starting point to research gear in online forums and discussion groups.

Least valuable: same as above, as you have to accept that this technology is growing so quickly that any book will quickly become dated. But don't shoot the messenger. Farkas does a great job, and he cannot be blamed because he has written a solid guidebook and cannot control changes within the world of podcasting. Do your own research as needed. Many podcasters are thrilled to discuss their own history with this emerging form. At least Farkas can help you sound like you have some idea of what you are talking about when you ask for help!

Also helpful: descriptions of RSS and script for your own RSS feed, descriptions of hardware available and discussions of each, along with interviews with successful podcasters who maje their own recommendations.

It does help to know a little HTML going into the RSS section, though.

This book is only good if you have absolutely zero experience or knowledge of podcasting. If you have already recorded a few shows, this book isn't for you.

Secrets of Podcasting--Audio Blogging for the Masses
By Bart G. Farkas
Published by Peachpit Press
ISBN 0321369297

Reviewed by Jim Lauria-HuNTUG member

Real world guidance on creating podcasts

A well written and well illustrated guide for beginners looking to create or locate podcasts on Windows or Mac machines.

Farkas includes plenty of screenshots and illustrations to simplify the informative text on how to download podcasts on MP3 players, create scripts and set the flow of your podcast, picking software for editing and recording, and legally playing music on your podcast.

He also offers advice on choosing the right equipment and distributing your podcast and RSS/XML feeds.

An interesting book for beginners which gets a 5 star rating.

Although I haven't (yet?) created one, I am becoming more interested in the podcasting phenomenon. A very good "get your feet wet" book to get someone started in that area is Secrets of Podcasting - Audio Blogging for the Masses by Bart G. Farkas.

Contents: Podcasting Basics; Jumping In; Creating a Podcast; Podcasting Distribution; Appendix; Glossary; Index

Yes, there's only four chapters... but they're *long* chapters... :)

I don't know that I would have titled this book "Secrets of". That almost implies that the book covers the nitty-gritty of podcasting and goes into great detail on specialized topics. That's not the case. Instead you get a broad coverage of the subject matter, from what it is to how to create your own. I've reviewed a number of other podcast books that go into great detail on mics, setting up your own studio, etc. Not here... This is really targeted at someone who either wants to know more about this strange new thing called podcasting, or someone who wants to create a podcast and wonders how to go about it. The information is highly practical, and you get all the "must know" information in order to make sure you are successful your first time out. If you then want to continue on and carry it to the next level, you can look for the books that get into the esoterica of sound theory and such...

I liked how Farkas listed a large number of software packages and hardware recommendations to get started. There's no emphasis on "buying the best of everything", but rather making solid purchases (or downloading solid open source software) that will serve you well going forward and make sure you don't sound like a rank amateur out of the gate. With coverage of Mac, Linux, and Windows platforms, you're pretty sure to find something that will fit your configuration. Also, if you're just into listening, chapter 2 (Jumping In) will give you everything you need to know on how to find, download, and manage the podcasts you find. All this is done with some off-beat humor and a number of interview sidebars with actual podcasters. Getting the perspective of where things are going from more than just the author adds quite a lot to the mix.

So long as you're not looking for expert level tips when you buy the book, you should enjoy the material and get real value from it. I certainly enjoyed reading it, and learned a bit in the process...

I knew absolutely nothing about iTunes or iPods..... This book is excellent - it's helped me sort everything out. It's clear, written in as simple language as you get with anything to do with computers and what I really love is that my screen actually matches the illustrations in the book. I'd recommend it to anyone starting out.

Everything you need to know and more. This should be include with the purchase of an IPOD

The iPod is an intuitive device and most folks need only play with it to use most functions. The same thing is true for iTunes. It's when you have gone beyond the obvious and hit a snag or an annoyance that you find whether a reference is useful or not. This books does well at anticipating "second level" issues and provides good guidance. A good example is"compilations" which affects how you browse and hot music is organized. Through the index, I zeroed right in on how this works and setting it to my preference. I would recommend you start with this book whether an absolute beginner or just in need of a reference.

I am new to the ipod experience. All the kids have had them for sometime. I was confused on all the little details which now seem simple due to this easy to read and understand book. Recommend it to all.

Because of the reviews of others on Amazon I decided to take a look at this book and then I purchased it. Filled with tons of information. Easy to read, understand, explained well and enjoyable. You cannot go wrong with this book. I doubt even the inexperienced will have any problems using an iPod after reading this.

Beautifully written book covering almost all area of spoken language processing. However, despite of relative ease of reading, it is necessary to warn the beginning reader, that in some sections the deep enough acquaintance to their theme is veiled. It, for example, concerns questions of definition and application of delta function concept in chapter 5 (Digital Signal Processing).

What a wonderful book. Whether you are a computer scientist or mathematician with limited exposure to the discipline of speech processing, or alternatively you are a dedicated expert in this field, you will find everything you are looking for in this book. For two weeks, I couldn't put this thing down. And that's an extraordinary testimony to a book that's 800+ pages of technical detail. If you want a high level understanding of how speech processing works, or if you want to dig in and build your own speech engine, everything you need is right here.

A thourough and complete review about the subject, in which many disciplines (language, computer, probability, statistics, numerical analysis) converge. As a non-practitioner I have found it an enjoyable opportunity to refresh my knowledges in the field of signal processing, and a source of many hints I have been able to develop in other branches. In spite of notations and methodologies (e.g. bayesian) a bit far from I am used to, the near one thousand pages never seemed extreme related to the meaning compressed into them, spreading from base theory to advanced applications.

This book is a comprehensive overview of most of the major topics associated with speech processing. Divided into five main sections, the book is well structured with a clear division of concerns. The title, "Spoken Language Processing", may be misleading to some as language processing topics only accounts for one section of the book.

The first two sections cover the fundamental theories that should be understood before embarking in-depth into a study of speech processing. This may seem an obvious approach but many texts do not follow this pattern making their use as reference tomes limited. Separating background theory from its use is also useful in that it allows a rigorous approach to its description. Too often texts give a hurried imprecise overview of theories used before launching into a long and complex use of the theory; losing the reader instantly in a quagmire of formulae.

The first two sections of the book deals with background material, material that the reader should at least understand the key concepts of. The first section concentrates on speech in general (including production and perception), probability and statistics, and pattern classification. These last two topics mentioned are both important parts of the book and are dealt with in their own chapters. Both are well written with the right amount of explanation and background. Much of the remainder of the book expects at least some familiarity with the material presented here. These chapters, like all chapters in the book finish with a section entitled, "Historical Perspective and Further Reading". The inclusion of recommended further reading, in addition to the vast number of references appearing in each chapter, make the book as a whole a very good starting point for any work in speech processing.

The second section concerns itself with the DSP topics which relate to speech processing. In this section the reader will find everything from FFTs to multi-rate signal processing and speech signal representations to speech coding. Again the section is well written and the reader is not forced to refer to other texts to understand what is written. If a topic is not expanded upon here then it is an indication that is not dealt further in any great depth in the remainder of the book.

The third section of the book covers speech recognition and is probably the section which will find most use with many readers. This section is very thorough in its treatment of the subject. It starts immediately with a discussion of Hidden Markov Models which is almost exclusively the method employed in the pattern matching stage of speech recognition. Any algorithms that are mentioned are also detailed which really make the book useful. In fact algorithms are presented throughout the book making it a practical reference as much as a theoretical one. This is important because there is a big jump from understanding theory to being able to implement an algorithm to exploit that theory. Other topics covered include an excellent chapter on environmental robustness with one of the best discussions of microphones I have seen. Language modelling and search algorithms are given a thorough treatment. I would like to have seen more detailed information on front-end processing and endpoint detection, as this remains a critical stage of the recognition process. Perhaps the level of detail reflects the fact that this is currently a hot research topic with potential for significant advancement.

Section four, on text-to-speech processing, is a good overview of the field and better than any book I've seen on the subject. It shows numerous block diagrams of what you need to build such a system and gives numerous algorithms in pseudocode. It also dedicates a subsection to each block of the text-to-speech system block diagram, discussing in detail what you would need to do to implement that particular block. Since much of the individual blocks have been discussed earlier in the book, it refers you back to specific earlier sections for details.

The fifth section is a short one on entire systems and shows some case studies, concentrating on what Microsoft was doing at the time this book was published, since that is where the authors' research came from. I would highly recommend that anyone anticipating getting into speech processing have a copy of this classic nearby.

This is a great book if you want to know the future of what Microsoft's top researchers like XD Huang etc are thinking and working. Dr Huang is a super star of the field and it is equally worthwhile to read his excellent book.

Developing speech applications is not easy to master. Even with VoiceXML becoming more widely adopted, there are a lot of intricacies that that a developer must understand. This book will provide you with a solid foundation to become an effective speech application developer.

The book did very well in presenting the limitations of the current speech recognition technology (dialog design, large vocabularies, promtp design, etc.) and made suggestions on how to overcome such problems in specific situations.

When this book came out a couple of years ago it was the first and only book on designing speech recognition systems. It was very valuable then, but now more books are available that cover the same information and more, for a lot less money.

This book is simply the best for your bookcase if you are a voice dialogue designer. I would strongly recommend it to novice and expert alike, especially for those learning VoiceXML for the first time, or working with it day to day.

Grounded in hours of human-computer experiments, and a multi-disciplinary approach to user interface design - this book is a rare combination of a careful ear for human language and dialogue, extensive engineering experience, and pragmatic knowledge of the strengths and limitations of current voice recognition technology.

The second edition has brought it bang up-to-date. It cuts through the hype that has always surrounded each successive generation of voice technology - focussing always on the building of robust useable interfaces which work with the user rather than against them.

This book is so well organized and articulated it's bound to be of value to anyone doing ASR application development. My own experience in voice response runs from end-user representative to application designer and I found every chapter enlightening. In this second edition of Bruce and David's ASR style guide, I believe the end users will find the new sections on voice portals and managing your voice talent of particular interest. And all users should take particular note of the expanded discussions of usability testing and performance reporting.

I found the first version of How to Build a Speech Recognition Application so useful that I actually took the time to compared the new edition, page for page, with the original. That was a relatively easy task, because the authors retained the original section numbering wherever possible. My comparison showed that the original guidelines have been substantially updated, based on continuing research and the hands-on experiences of both the authors and other acknowledged experts. In addition, I believe the new sections and expanded discussions of critical design considerations are going to prove valuable to both novice and seasoned developers.

In short, developing effective telephony dialogues is a complex, rapidly evolving and downright expensive task. Given that reality, every development team ought to have at least one copy of this landmark style guide.

Author, Bruce Balentine's goal with How to Build a Speech Recognition Application is to produce the Strunk and White of speech recognition. An electronic musician and composer, Balentine was a pioneer in the speech recognition field. The text's examination of the problems of navigation from human perception to machine recognition give comprehension to even the layman. The book is well organized and structured with the +,/,- system which allows a novice to follow. According to linguist, Dr. John White, the first chapter could stand alone as a treatise on the dynamics of the human speech interface with the machine.

This is a fine book for approaching the field of speech communication. It includes lucid presentations of key concepts such as phoneme, phone, allophone, units, formants and the Bernoulli's effect. Every chapter closes with a summary, a great tool for reinforcing what you have learned through the chapters. Chapters 1-10 are introductory material, and following chapters discuss more advanced topics, such as models of perception. Application developers will also benefit from a summary of potential acoustic cues from articulatory features (p. 152). Finally, the appendices constitute great teaching and researching resources.

If you are completely new to he field, I would suggest to read first "The Speech Chain" by Denes & Pinson, then Chapters 1-10 of this book. Later on, you may follow with "Acoustic Phonetics" by Stevens, "Acoustic Theory of Speech Production" by Fant, "Speech Processing" by Deng and O'Shaugnessy, and "Spoken Language Processing" by Huang et al.

Great textbook. Not the easiest in the world but surely the most comprehensive for a Speech Science course. Thoroughly sound. Don't think there is another like it. Using it in our course with excellent response from students.

A great deal of well-organized, well-presented information regarding the nature of speech, including many spectrograms with formant tracks. The review of speech perception theory is also well done. The technology is treated in only the final chapter, and definitely qualifies as an overview. The only glaring omission is no description whatsoever of the human auditory mechanism. Nevertheless, the book suited my purposes well.

I am using this book for my academic needs, and it tells all relevant subjects in a straightforward way, without messing up with any unnecessary mathematical extravaganza. I advise to everybody who wants a good headstart in this field.

"Digital Audio" is the book to have for anyone interested in using digital audio for ANY purpose. It is real world, practical information that will enable you to get the most out of your digital audio requirements and help you keep it leading edge. It is also simply a fun, interesting, techno read. Two Thumbs Up !!

This book, "Digital Audio" is absolutely wonderful. This has to be the best money Iýve EVER spent!

I am a Musician and a Teacher. The topics covered so well are the very things I have struggled to learn - on my own- since 1985. This book covers it ALL!! Thorough,comprehensive, easy-to-understand and well presented with humor and REAL knowledge of the various elements of digital music today (AND yesterday). Everything one needs to know to create first rate recording projects is right here!

I recommend this book to anyone who needs to know how to create music for digital distribution - be it on CD, the Internet, in a Multimedia presentation - wherever. It is an awesome distillation of the knowledge and experience of a Master.

I only wish I'd had it ten years ago!

I was new to Cubase so I started with the "Complete Idiot's Guide to Recording with Cubase", followed by the start up manual, then jumped to the "Fast Guide to Cubase 4". I would recommend this sequence to anyone new to Cubase. The Idiot's guide and start up manual got me through my first song, then the Fast Guide added a second layer of efficiency and detail. The Fast Guide is extremely well written--straight forward enough for the newer Cubase user, yet packed with enough detail to supplement the full-up Cubase manual as a reference for months to come.

I am new to cubase and this book had me up and running in a day or so. Very thorough guides to all functions of cubase and the chapter order is great for trying out a recording and mix as you read along with the book. A great buy.

This book is a godsend in that it starts the reader gently into the world of Cubase4, but then before too many pages have passed, you find yourself
equipped and confident to do some pretty tricky things. Very well written and thorough.

How could a book dedicated to my little iBreen, Addie go wrong. :-)
It is a perfect companion to tuck into your backpack or the storage
compartment in your car. You will find it to be a great reference,
written in that witty and informative style which is precisely the
trademark feature of Christopher Breen. As it says on the cover,
"All the Secrets of the iPhone, Pocket Sized"

A very useful reference for the iPhone. I've been using Mac's since 96, but wanted to know as much useful information as possible about the iPhone. Chris Breen, for those who don't know him, is a witty, articulate editor for Macworld magazine, and contributes much to Macintosh community. You won't be sorry you got this book, unless you designed the phone yourself you'll be helped and entertained by this book,
Like his other book, The iTunes & iPod Pocket Guide this book won't fit in your average pocket.
You can't go wrong

I love this book! Without it I would miss many of the finer points of the IPhone. Easy to read and understand. Had a quick tutorial at the Apple Store but this book is much better.

Anyone who works in the Library and Information field need to get this book. This resource will save you alot of mental and financial problems as well as stress. The author does not make the assumption that the reader knows the subject area. This resource is written so that a layperson can understand it. After every chapter there are references that one can peruse if he/she so desires. The appendix is wonderful. The table of contents is methodical and logical. It is a great reference resource and a good read!!

While the book has 9 plus chapters, the fifth chapter makes a sense, as it is a detailed section on motivations that are not-secular, non-business, and non-academic areas.

The chapters of the book are:
1 Questions and Answers about the First Amendment: Sex, Lies, and Cyberspace 1
2 Basic First Amendment Principles and Their Application to Libraries 25
3 The Sexual Conundrum 45
4 The Right to Offend 62
5 Religious Motivations and Library Use 72
6 Just between You and Your Librarian--Library Confidentiality Laws 84
7 Workplace Issues: Employee Free Speech and Harassment 92
8 Children, Schools, and the First Amendment 105
9 Cyberspace--The Last Frontier 125
Appendixes
A The Library Bill of Rights and Its Interpretations 147
B Guidelines for the Development and Implementation of Policies, Regulations and Procedures Affecting Access to Library Materials, Services and Facilities 176
C Guidelines and Considerations for Developing a Public Library Internet Use Policy 180
D Dealing with Concerns about Library Resources 188
E Conducting a Challenge Hearing 191
F Policy on Confidentiality of Library Records 196
G Policy concerning Confidentiality of Personally Identifiable Information about Library Users 198
Glossary 201
Index

Worth a new edition.

The First Amendment is an integral philosophical and political concept embedded in academic and community library system operations. The First Amendment And Cyberspace answers the questions librarians and library patrons most often have about the First Amendment and library services. Included the issues of basic First Amendment principles and their application to libraries, the right to offend, religious motivations and library use, library confidentiality laws, cyberspace and the First Amendment. A special chapter focuses on children, schools and the First Amendment. Essential reading for library students, librarians, library administrators, and library board members, Robert Peck's The First Amendment And Cyberspace is enhanced with appendices on American Library Association policies and recommendations including Conducting a Challenge Hearing; Guidelines and Considerations for Developing a Public Library Internet Use Policy; and Policy on Confidentiality of Library Records.

Moving forward with technological change and software upgrades we tend to forget the nuances of MIDI that we learn along the way. MIDI POWER has these chronicled, and more, in organized detail. It is good to refresh your memory from time to time, and so this book goes on the reference shelf.

I am over halfway through this book, and it is the best book on all things MIDI that I have ever read. I intend to use it to teach MIDI. Unlike most books that do a great job for two chapters then make a quantum leap - THis one takes you through painstaking explanations of things that the other tomes do not cover.

Most excellent.

Although a variety of MIDI gear has been replaced by software, in-depth information about MIDI is as useful as ever. A full two decades after its inception, most musicians working in the electronic realm only have a cursory knowledge of what this technology is capable of and how to fully take advantage of it within the modern recording studio. Fortunately, the second edition of MIDI Power is designed to clear up much of this mystery. The first few chapters address MIDI hardware, General MIDI, and Standard MIDI Files, followed by almost 60 pages devoted to MIDI messages. Two chapters on MIDI computer basics lead to discussions of sequencing, virtual instruments, and advanced topics. The author guides users through various real-world scenarios on how to incorporate MIDI's myriad functions into the average studio situation, including topics such as SysEx data, General MIDI, the use of USB and FireWire MIDI devices, and how to interface computers and external hardware. The book's appendices are gold mines of information, incorporating technical explanations, practical tips, and the official MIDI 1.0 Specification. Each chapter ends with review problems for which there are answers in the back of the book. The book is profusely illustrated and is a worthwhile update to the valuable but aged first edition. I highly recommend it. Amazon does not show the table of contents, so I do that here:
1. The Basics - Covers the history and definition of MIDI.
2. Basic MIDI Messages - Looks at the information contained in a MIDI message and its syntax.
3. Control Change Messages - Looks at a specific type of MIDI message, the Control Changes, and how to use this type of message to control a performance.
4. General MIDI and Standard MIDI Files - Addresses compatibility when sharing MIDI files with others. Discusses the General MIDI file format and extensions made to it.
5. MIDI Hardware Devices - From sound modules to MIDI patch bays, looks at a wide range of MIDI-supporting audio devices.
6. MIDI and the Computer MIDI Interfaces - What you need to start using your computer with external MIDI devices.
7. MIDI Inside Your Computer - How to get your computer working properly with MIDI and audio applications as well as MIDI/audio related peripherals.
8. Sequencing with MIDI - Looks at the most popular type of MIDI application inside your computer and covers its configuration, the recording process, and editing environment.
9. MIDI Software: A Sound Creation Environment - Looks at the world of software instruments.
10. MIDI Software Applications - An overview of the different ways that programmers have used their skills to make MIDI very versatile. Also looks at creating MIDI-enabled web pages.
11. Deeper into MIDI: System Exclusive and Synchronization - Along with SysEx, examines how you can synchronize different devices, software, and video using MIDI's synchronization options.
12. The Standard MIDI File Format - This completes chapter four's introduction to the SMF by looking at the construction of a MIDI file, its parameters, and the values within those parameters. Here you learn how to repair a corrupted MIDI file.
Appendices
A. Understanding Binary, Decimal, and Hexidecimal
B. MIDI 1.0 Specification
C. Understanding Timing Concepts
D. The MIDI Troubleshooting Checklist
E. Midi Arrangements: Tips & Tricks
F. Review Questions: Answers